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Pendrell Sew-Along #8: Bonus Post! Cutting Scalloped-Edge Lace

Today’s post is a bonus post on how to cut the Pendrell Blouse in scalloped-edge lace! All versions of the blouse would be gorgeous in lace, don’t you think? The ruffles would be adorable with scalloped lace edges, as would the pleated sleeve with a lace edge. So would the classic, sleeveless shell – gorgeous and feminine under a blazer for work!

Love the idea of a lace blouse, but aren’t sure how to get started? This post is for you!

Need to catch up? Here are the links to the first seven Sew-Along posts:

For my demonstration, I have the coolest thrifted fabric to use. I always browse all of the fabric-related sections at Value Village – material, bedsheets, curtains. To some of you, used fabric might be a turn-off. But to me, there are so many thrifty possibilities. Bedsheets can be used for dresses or at the very least, muslins and test garments. White or light-coloured sheets could work as lining, muslin or sew-in interfacing.

And today, we have a ‘tablecloth’ of lace. I swear this is just a piece of lace fabric, where someone’s sewn the border trim around the edges to use as a tablecloth. It feels like lace fabric, trust me! Since the launch of the Pendrell I’ve been dreaming of making a lace version, either in cream or black. Looks like for $5.99, I can have my lace blouse on a budget!

I could just make the lace blouse using only lace, for a revealing look. But that’s not really my style. So I’m going to underline it using this matching cream polyester. (Also from Value Village, for $4.99.) I’m hoping to make a fancy, designer-inspired lace blouse for under $15.

Today I will show you how to cut out scalloped-edge lace for the Pendrell Blouse. We’ll cut some of the pieces out of lace, and some of the pieces out of the underlining fabric.

Cut from Lace:

Front, Back, Side Front, Side Back (1, 2, 7, 8)

Either the draped sleeve (3), or the two ruffles – Seam Ruffle and Sleeve Ruffle (4 & 5)

Cut from Underlining Fabric:

Front, Back, Side Front, Side Back (1, 2, 7, 8)

Neck Binding, Armhole Binding (6, 9)

This way, we’re binding our edges with the underlining fabric. Much smoother than trying to create bias binding out of lace! I’ve left the sleeves or ruffles sheer, it will give us the prettiest finish and takes advantage of the scalloped edge.

Let’s begin!

First, press the edges of the lace with a cool iron. I don’t know the exact content of this lace, but it’s likely synthetic. If your iron is too hot, you’ll melt the lace! When it doubt, stay around the polyester setting.

Now, lay out the lace on your cutting surface. Adjust the fabric so the lace edge is straight, using the edge of your table as a guide.

Take your sleeve pattern piece, or sleeve ruffle pattern piece, and line up the fold linealong the edge of the lace. Pin along the edge.

Smooth out the pattern piece, and pin along the top edge. You’ll notice we’re ignoring the grainlines on these pieces. It’s OK to cut these pieces on the straight grain, so that we can use the border. They won’t drape quite as nicely as they would on the bias, but since we’re not folding the piece in half, we can get away with doing it this way.

Cut out the pattern piece, as you’ll need it to cut the second ruffle or sleeve. I find it much easier to cut these pieces open, instead of on the fold.

Pretty! My lace edging is sewn on, so I have a line down the piece. If you use real scalloped-edge lace you won’t have that line.

Repeat for the other sleeve ruffle, so you have two identical pieces. Or, if you’re making the draped sleeve version, cut another draped sleeve.

If you’re making View B with the ruffles, cut out two of the other ruffle piece. You’ll end up with four lace-edged pieces.

Once the ruffles (4 for View B) or sleeve (2 for View A) are cut, then fold your fabric in half to cut out the body pieces. Place, pin and cut out the four body pieces out of lace.

Want to hear the unfortunate part? My lace tablecloth is stained. There are what looks like coffee stains on a couple of the lace body pieces. (Note to self, check thrift-store fabric closely for damages!) They’re so subtle, you can barely see the discolouration, which is why I didn’t see them until I was up close cutting the fabric. I’m going to try and remove the stains, cross your fingers they come out!

Because of that, I’m not going to cut out my underlining fabric just yet. If you’re following along, go ahead and cut out your underlining pieces.

Here’s what you’ll need to cut from underlining, for Views A, B, or C:

Four body pieces: front, back, side front, side back (1, 2, 7, 8)

Two binding pieces: armhole binding, neck binding (6, 9)

I’ll let you know if I manage to get the stains out, or if this post was purely for informational purposes!

A side note: Every lace is slightly different, this post is just to give you an idea of how to work with the lace, and how to position the ruffles to use the scalloped edge. And of course, to give you another possibility for making the Pendrell Blouse!

About Tasia

I'm Tasia St. Germaine, and I'm the founder of Sewaholic Patterns. I began blogging as a creative outlet back in 2010, and started Sewaholic Patterns shortly after. I write about sewing projects, post tutorials and sewing tips, and share what it's like behind the scenes of a growing sewing pattern company. I love cycling and commute to the studio by bike most days. When I'm not sewing, I enjoy knitting and love making cosy sweaters for our rainy Vancouver weather.

Do not despair. If the stains will not budge, stain the entire piece. Practice on some scraps. A tea soak might bring out some lovely dimension. I have also simmered fabric (and Easter Eggs) in brown onion skins. There are also traditional fabric dyes.

I’m curious, why did you decide not to use the scallop border as the bottom of the shirt, since it looks like you have plenty of fabric left with this border. Was it a design choice or is the grain line an issue? Just curious if there was a technical reason or if it was just esthetics.
Can’t wait to see what yours looks like all done up in lace!

@Liz: I didn’t use the scalloped hem because there were parts of the hem that didn’t look as nice – frayed or unraveled. Also, the floral pattern goes across the fabric, so I could only use the bottom or top of the border if I wanted to keep the scalloped edges and have the floral pattern look the same across all panels.
You could totally use the scalloped edge as a hem if you wanted to! I also tuck my blouses in, so no one would ever see the scallops. Good question!

Hi Tasia
I hope you don’t mind me posting a more general question re: the sew along on your lovely (and I have to say inspirational) post re: lace.
I made up my muslin and the neck line is really too high for me – my bust is just too big for a high neckline. I’m sure you have mentioned adjusting the neck binding etc previously. Can you please let me know what to do? Many thanks!
Fay

If regular washing doesn’t take care of the stain, try soaking it in Biz (according to the manufacturer directions) for up to 24 hours. I’ve soaked thrifted sheets and the water is always nasty when I take the fabric out. Good luck!

Catching up on the last few posts at once here. First of all, THANK YOU for the FBA adjustment post! I actually got the Fit For Real People book for Christmas this year, but it was good to see a real life photo walkthrough. (I’m second-guessing my size choice now, because I needed a much bigger adjustment than I thought I would and it still seemed like when I tissue-fit it the second time, the seams were just barely going to reach to where I need them to! I could be wrong. I hope so, since I’m sure the measurements I took were right!)

Second, I realize this is getting ahead of things a bit, but I was wondering if you’re going to talk about seam finishes at all on this? Just curious, since I’ve got a poly charmeuse that looks very similar to your poly print for the one I’m doing, and that stuff frays like crazy! I’m not convinced my serger is going to be the best choice, particularly with the seam ruffle….

I have a friend who makes penny rugs. She buys thrifted wool skirts, jackets etc., cuts them into small pieces and dyes all the colours in one pot of dye so that they will be compatible with each other. The dye of choice for her is, would you believe ~ Kool Aid!!

Hey Tasia. Similar to Becky I was wondering if you’ll do seam finishes. I have a poly chiffon and due to it’s transparency was crumbling about what seam finish to do. I was thinking French seams, which I’ve never done before. Will you be covering them or should I do my own research? (either way is fine – I just didn’t want to spend the time doing the research only to get One of your lovely informative posts on it the next day!)

I’m so excited that you posted this! Just yesterday I saw a woman wearing a cute blouse with ruffles on the shoulders and it had what looked like ruffled lace sandwiched between the ruffles. It was so cute and I think I might give it a try using this pattern. Now I need to go and find some scalloped lace!

Hi, I just found your blog. Looking good :D I have a small tip for you for getting rid of yellow hue developed by time on lacematerial. I have never tried it myself but I have a friend who did it and it seems to work. Instructions are very easy. Get couple cartons/bottles of fatfree milk (or fatfree sourmilk/buttermilk) and soak lace in there for a day or two. Check every now and then while soaking. Then wash it as per normal. Colour should have lightened. I don’t know if this works on cotton or silk, but it should work on artificial materials like nylon. It might not work on very strong staining and result might be fabric base lightening and stains becoming more visible. Anyway, just wanted to share this information for the future.